The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 140

140. The Prelude to the Seed War

Rummaging through my memories, I recalled that during the 1997 IMF crisis, under Chairman Wang, the first Korean companies acquired by American firms were seed companies.

After liberation [referring to the end of Japanese colonial rule], Dr. Woo Jang-choon bred seeds for radish and cabbage suited to our climate and distributed them to farmers. However, these were all transferred overseas, and we had to buy radish and cabbage seeds with foreign trademarks.

Even the famous Cheongyang chili pepper was taken away at that time, and we had to pay foreign currency to buy it back.

South Korea lost the first genetic resource war.

The President said earnestly,

“You’ve made a very important point today. Something urgent has come up.”

*

The President called a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and relevant officials.

Potted Korean fir, Miss Kim lilac, Hongdo hosta, and goldenbell forsythia were placed on the table.

The President said,

“They are native species, but foreign companies are selling them with their own trademarks. If we had the rights to these varieties and trademarks, astronomical sums of money would be flowing into Korea every year. But we are now importing them, paying in dollars.”

“…….”

“Resources aren’t just what we dig from the ground. Seeds are also resources. We’ve been so focused on developing heavy and chemical industries that genetics and seed science have been barren fields. We’ve reached a point where we have to pay to buy even the seeds of our own land. In the past, we were helpless because we didn’t have a concept of genetic resources, but we’d be fools to be taken advantage of any further.”

The officials listening looked determined, like independence activists.

“You’ve made an important point, Your Excellency! We will take this as an opportunity to awaken!”

“The present is what matters. We need to enact strong laws now. We must enact a Plant Variety Protection Act to register plant variety rights and legally protect the rights of breeders of new varieties, and create a Seed Industry Promotion Act to make it a 100-year national project.”

“Understood, Your Excellency!”

“Now, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries must go beyond traditional agriculture as the competent authority for not only the supply and demand of agricultural, livestock, and fishery food resources but also the advanced genetic industry.”

“We will keep that in mind, Your Excellency!”

“Start by establishing a genetics research institute and recruiting and nurturing talented individuals.”

*

National Assembly.

The lawmaker who proposed the Plant Variety Protection Act explained the purpose of the law.

“The Plant Variety Protection Act is a type of intellectual property right, like patents, copyrights, and trademarks. It grants the breeder of a new variety the right to use it for a certain period to protect the breeder’s rights, preventing others from using it.”

The Plant Variety Protection Act and the Seed Industry Promotion Act passed through the National Assembly swiftly.

However, it became clear that the seed industry needed more than just domestic laws.

*

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries reported to the President.

“We requested the return of the variety rights for the Korean fir and Miss Kim lilac from the American seed company Monsanto, but they refused.”

“What was their reason?”

“Our newly passed law is only a domestic law and is not valid overseas. International law also does not have regulations on varieties, so the rights of the first registrant are recognized.”

“Hmm, can’t we buy them back?”

“We looked into that, but they are demanding an exorbitant amount.”

“How much are they asking for?”

“In the case of the Korean fir and Miss Kim lilac, they want the value of 10 years of sales.”

“Damn, they’re like robbers!”

“They’re saying they won’t sell their cash cows.”

“Hmm, if that’s how they want to play it… if they won’t sell the goods, we’ll have to buy the whole store.”

The President called Chairman Jung.

*

Chairman Jung asked the President,

“Your Excellency, what are you planning to bet on this time, looking so eager?”

“I need to get into the seed business.”

“Seeds? Are you talking about seeds for planting?”

“Yes. In the United States and Europe, they not only plundered slaves while colonizing but also plundered useful plant and animal species, and now they’re in the seed business. In the future, electronic products and seed products will dominate the future.”

“The seed industry….”

“There’s the largest agricultural biotechnology company in the world in the United States. It’s called Monsanto, and it’s the company that supplied the U.S. military with the chemical weapon ‘Agent Orange’ during the Vietnam War.”

“Ah, that’s the company that made that terrible defoliant.”

“It’s the same company that swept up Korean seed companies when the IMF crisis hit during Chairman Wang’s time. In the future, this company will become an absolute power, owning the patent rights to 90% of the world’s genetically modified foods. Let’s buy this company.”

“The acquisition price will be enormous.”

“In the future, the German company Bayer will acquire all of Monsanto’s shares for $63 billion (approximately 67.378 trillion won). It was the largest merger and acquisition in history.”

“$63 billion!”

“Astronomical, isn’t it? But don’t be intimidated. It’s the cheapest price right now. Monsanto’s listed market capitalization is only $150 million.”

“That’s manageable.”

“The problem is that you can’t buy it just because you have money. To acquire all the varieties they have registered, we need to buy the entire company, not just increase our stake. We need to find a way that doesn’t violate U.S. law and sentiment, and pressure them to the point where they have no choice but to sell, and then beat them down even harder to buy it cheap.”

“You mean buy it at a discount, not a premium?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, you seem to have a plan, judging by your confident tone?”

“Hahaha, you know me too well. That’s right. I’ve been studying Monsanto, getting data from the United States. Listen to this.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Monsanto is a listed company….”

Chairman Jung nodded as the President explained his detailed plan.

“Monsanto had such amazing secrets hidden. This is information you could never know without future knowledge.”

“We’re compensating the victims and holding them accountable, so we’re doing a good thing.”

“Of course. I suddenly feel a great sense of responsibility.”

“This is the opposite of what Chairman Jung did in his past life, so it might be uncomfortable.”

“I’ll do it if necessary.”

“And we need to acquire another company.”

“What company is it?”

“I became interested in grain companies after the incident where we tamed the continent with food [a previous event in the story]. Cargill is the largest company in the United States among the major grain companies.”

“Ah, Cargill! They were our soybean trading partner this time. They boast such immense power that they decide the governor of Iowa. Every presidential candidate visits the Cargill family first when they come to Iowa, I hear.”

“That’s right. But this company is the largest privately held company in the United States. It will be difficult to acquire because it’s a private company.”

“That’s right. I heard it’s a family company.”

“Chairman Jung, use your ingenuity to swallow it up.”

“I understand. I’ll unleash my creativity.”

“Well, the prelude to the seed war has begun. Good luck.”

“I will be prepared, Your Excellency!”

The National Wealth Fund established a seed research institute.

Chairman Jung established an agricultural biotechnology company through Tiger Fund that produces agricultural seeds, seed improvement, fertilizers, and pesticides, like Monsanto.

Chairman Jung prepared the data and flew to Lyon, France.

*

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The IARC is an agency under the UN World Health Organization, headquartered in Lyon, France, that directs and coordinates research on the causes of cancer and classifies and announces carcinogens.

Chairman Jung met with Director Leon, whom the Korean President had already mentioned.

He came out to the entrance to greet him.

“Welcome, Chairman Jung!”

Leon greeted Chairman Jung, whom he was meeting for the first time, like an old friend.

This was because Korea’s National Wealth Fund had invested a large sum in IARC, increasing its stake to the second largest after the United States, and Tiger Fund had promised to sponsor research funds.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Director.”

“It is very difficult for a single organization to be responsible for global health and well-being, especially in terms of budget. Thank you deeply for your support.”

“There is no more rewarding work than taking care of human health.”

“Shall we go to my office?”

*

Director’s Office.

The Director said,

“Cancer can be called a modern disease, a disease of civilization. The incidence of cancer is rapidly increasing due to exposure to various chemicals, radiation, and other pollutants. Our organization focuses on finding and prohibiting carcinogens that cause cancer rather than treating cancer.”

“That’s exactly why I came to see you. Dr. Lee, please show him the documents!”

Dr. Lee from the accompanying cancer research institute took out the documents.

Chairman Jung said,

“These documents are part of the evidentiary materials for a class-action lawsuit filed this time in California by Mr. Smith and 20 other villagers against Monsanto in California court.”

“We have already received and reviewed the copies you sent.”

“In summary, they claim that they developed cancer after being exposed to the herbicide manufactured by Monsanto while spraying it, and that women in the village miscarried.”

The Director said,

“In my opinion, the evidence is somewhat insufficient and disadvantageous in court. Monsanto claims that they are selling an environmentally friendly product called ‘Roundup,’ which is different from Agent Orange, which they used in the Vietnam War, and that it has almost no toxicity and is unrelated to cancer or miscarriage. To break this claim, we need to know the specific chemical composition of the carcinogen.”

“…….”

“Identifying which substance among the dozens of herbicide ingredients is the cause requires a long period of research time, researchers, and budget. That’s why it’s difficult for civilians to prove it.”

“That’s why I brought these documents.”

At Chairman Jung’s signal, Dr. Lee placed the copied documents from his leather bag on the desk.

The Director was startled when he saw the documents.

“Top Secret?”

“These are copies of documents unofficially obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense. It is a report on the harmfulness of Agent Orange, which was sprayed in the Vietnam War.”

It was data obtained through informants planted by the Korean President in major U.S. agencies.

Agent Orange is the code name for one of the defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of Operation Ranch Hand, a jungle defoliation operation during the Vietnam War (1961-1971).

Over nine years, the U.S. military sprayed 80 million liters of defoliants 6,452 times to eliminate Vietnamese villages and hideouts that were the Viet Cong’s food supply, affecting at least once 20% of the forests in South Vietnam.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to herbicides, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children were born with deformities.

“Oh, such documents existed! But the trial requires Roundup, not Orange Agent products.”

“There is an important clue here. The part with the red line is a report on the toxicity of the herbicide. Monsanto admitted to the toxicity in advance, and the U.S. Department of Defense tacitly approved it.”

“Monsanto knew in advance! And the U.S. government is an accomplice, which is surprising.”

“Two solutions were presented. The first was to reduce the number of sprays. The second is that Monsanto is experimenting with a substance to replace TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), the core ingredient.”

“TCDD is self-assessed as ‘the most toxic molecular substance synthesized by mankind.’ What is the alternative substance?”

“Glyphosate.”

“Isn’t that a chemical used to remove foreign substances accumulated inside metal pipes?”

“Yes.”